Fox spirits, húlijīng, kitsune, whatever you choose to call them, the nine-tailed fox spirits that live in the mountains were not meant to love. It was against the rules. These spirits were born from drops, the wind, and falling leaves to save and protect the mortal realm, how could they dream of doing anything more? It's not a bad deal anyway, to live comfortably and build spiritual power in exchange for ensuring mortals live in peace and prosperity. Foxes live in the rural communities of the whole world, sitting in shrines, churches, and courtrooms to hear the needs of humans. Assisting their armies, treating the sick and wounded, dancing, and playing music. And when they've completed a mission they get to return to their beautiful mountains, living in communities untouched by the greed and technology humans have brought into their world. Transcending mortal attachments like desire, gender, and sensuality had allowed them to remain in this sort of tranquility for centuries. Dressed in smooth-flowing silky fabrics, sleeping in warm houses with soft mattresses, and well-fed despite the lack of necessity to eat. And all they had to do was not make attachments of any kind. Truly, what more could they want?
Sana stood at the foot of a snowy mountain waiting to go out. He (or at least that's what people called him in this form) had put his tails and ears away, looking as mortal as possible with his features. He was tall and broad, powerful looking. Living atop a cold mountain for years had made his skin very pale, only the slightest flush of pink appeared at his lips and the corner of his orange eyes. Long silky black hair was tucked into a winter hat with a fluffy pom pom on the top, so just his long bangs stuck out. He had decided this would make him look less intimidating. In the past century or so, he had noticed that humans liked to cut their hair short, especially when they were what mortals called "male" so this was the best way to not stick out. It was difficult enough standing out on the mountain he'd lived in his whole life anyway, black foxes aren't very common in colder climates.
A figure approached him and he recognized "her" as one of the much younger kitsunes on the mountain. Despite the high-energy and social nature associated with mortal foxes, spirits such as themselves tend to be solitary creatures, rarely socializing, and often nameless. That is to say, he had no clue what to call her. She skipped down the mountain, white fuzzy earmuffs on and wavy blonde hair blowing in the wind, her white fuzzy jacket was zipped up so far only her icy blue eyes could be seen. That was when Sana remembered that this was probably the young fox's first mission. Unsure of what to say or do in such a situation he just nodded at her and gestured for them to start walking.
They walked for about 15 minutes before arriving at Sana's car. It fit his personality well, it was sleek and black, with a beige suede interior, from an outsider's perspective he was a man who had everything. His companion looked up at him, wide-eyed and bewildered…Had she never seen a car before? He sighed.
"It's a car, humans use them for transportation"
The fluffy white kitsune snapped out of her stupor realizing she'd been spoken to.
"Oh…I know, I just didn't expect it to be so pretty."
Sana wanted to protest that he'd been sent out on a mission with somebody so juvenile. Looking at her human form she appeared to be trying to emulate all of those female celebrities that sang and danced on TV…just how did she get access to one of those wretched things anyway? He decided he didn't care and just got in the car.
The drive would have been peaceful if he wasn't painfully aware of the "girl" who was amazed by everything that passed her. The next few years might not go as planned if she kept this up.
"You'll have plenty of time to sightsee later, right now we need to get our story straight."
"Mn." She nodded eagerly.
This was especially exciting to her, she'd been on the mountain learning about human life for 16 years already. And it's not as if she was ever a child, spirits aren't born, they just come into consciousness when their presence is needed. Plus Sana was a legend, he was well known for being able to blend in seamlessly with human societies, and for speaking most of their languages. To be fair, he is thousands of years old, even though he could just barely pass for being in his thirties. She was so lost in her thoughts she almost missed what she was being told.
"Originally they asked you to use this form so you could be my wife, that way we'd be a rich young couple. Looking at you I don't think that'll work though, so you'll pretend to be my daughter instead, I may look young but this is more believable. Oh, I guess you'll need a car too, I'll take you to get one tomorrow. You know what country we're in, right? It's Kise, don't worry, they pretty much all speak English here so you won't have to learn a new language, and don't worry about trying to blend in with all kinds of people who live here."
There was a lot to take in as they entered a large, bustling city. The buildings were tall and shiny and so many people were walking about! Sana didn't seem affected but she'd never seen anything like this before.
Eventually, they arrived at a much quieter section of the city and pulled up to a large house. Sana began to explain their cover story.
"If anybody asks, I'm a lawyer, and we're so wealthy because of my inheritance from my father. The name the house is under is Nymania since it belongs to the mountain. So Nymania is our family name. I'm a single father, and I won't talk about your mother if anybody asks you. Don't worry about buying anything. There are clothes, mortal appliances, phones, and our own rooms set up inside. I guess we'll also Have to put you in school, but that'll be good for you anyway. Any questions?"
Sana felt like something was troubling the girl, she looked kind of confused and nervous, but it all made sense when she said,
"Name."
"Hm? Oh! A name, I completely forgot, do you have one? What should I call you?"
Despite speaking so much and asking so many questions, Sana always sounded monotone and disinterested, it made the girl wonder how she'd get along with him for the next few years.
"I don't, I'm not sure how to pick one."
She was irritatingly timid and shy to sama, despite appearing to be a young adult the girl seemed like an infant in comparison to him, although he was told this fox had a lot of potential.
He considered her for a moment, way back in the day he'd been given his name by an emperor in the east who'd recruited him as a guard and advisor. The man had told him that names should have meaning. He was given "sana" because it represented brilliance and calm. That was also where he'd learned some mortals called his kind "kitsune." Sana wasn't nearly as creative as that man but he still did his best. Looking at the girl saw her hair was bright blonde, almost platinum, but with some gray tones to it.
"Ash. Your hair is like the color of incense ash to me. You can change it later if you'd like, but you'll be Ash Nymania while we're here.
Ash excitedly nodded, she'd never been given a name before, she spent most of her time begging to visit the mortal realm and never had time to consider such a thing.
The house was large and lavish, but it was also warm. There was sunlight pouring in all the windows and padded furniture everywhere. A human servant of the house brought her to her room. She remembered what Sana had told her in the car. The human servants all knew about and worked with fox spirits while they were among mortals, it also meant that she could take any form she wanted while inside the house. However, she must only be a human female outside of this building. That shouldn't be too difficult anyway, this was her favorite way to appear. Letting her ears and tail out she jumped onto the soft squishy bed in the room that was prepared and decorated just for her. It had pale pinks and cream tones everywhere, there was a bed filled with soft pillows and blankets. She even had a walk-in closet and her own attached bathroom. As much as she loved the peace back home, this was the best she'd ever lived! Sana was even nice enough to make sure it'd be a place she felt comfortable.
The rest of the house was mostly black white and gray, with an occasional embellishment of red and purple. It was still very warm and inviting but rather than the sweet colors and smells of Ash's room there was something edgier about the decorations. It smelled of musky incense. Pleasant, but not to Ash's taste.
"Miss, please come get dinner"
A human maid had come to Ash's door, although she was dressed far too well to be a normal servant. Actually, everybody in the house was. Ash put this aside and followed her to the dining room, she didn't even know why they were here, Sana would tell her when it was necessary.
Ash never could've expected the sight that greeted her. Sana was sleeping on the couch and had completely changed out of the clothing he was wearing earlier. Instead, he wore his silk robes from the mountain. This set was mostly white with black embroidery. He was barefoot, All 9 tails of his were out, some covering him and some under him as pillows, and long hair that would reach his ankles if he stood cascaded around him. Even though he was curled up into a ball and peacefully snoring, the number of tails he had and his elegant appearance were signs of the long life he'd lived.
At first, Ash idolized Sana as one would a celebrity, even going as far as to have a small crush. But seeing him now she felt the chasm that was between them. Sana had been alive for thousands of years, seeing the world, ending wars, and fighting demons. She suddenly felt like a child sitting before the unaware hero. Him being her father suddenly didn't feel too far off.
A timid voice broke her from her thoughts,
"Miss Ash, if it isn't too much trouble would you mind waking Master Sana up? We all know better than to startle him as mortals"